Bob Rae the Interim
It appears that Toronto-Centre MP and former Ontario NDP Premier, Bob Rae, will take the Liberal Party interim leadership for the next year and a half when they finally have a leadership vote in the fall of 2012.
This quashes any actual leadership or prime ministerial ambitions he has had.
I've always had my eye on him (politically!) and believed that he was quietly undermining Michael Ignatieff's leadership, especially after bowing out of any leadership race when Stephane Dion stepped down.
There is also no doubt that Bob wants to merge the Liberals and NDP, but with the NDP in a much, much, much stronger position than the Liberals, that possibility is off the table.
Bob's getting up there in age, but I think the Liberal diaspora saw the writing on the wall if Rae was elected their leader. The Conservative Party would have a Rae hay day in slamming his record as premier of Ontario.
This is a good move for the Liberals.
Far from me to give advice to them, but I would suggest that they reconnect with their original roots and purpose. They were called Grits back in the day. Does anyone call them that anymore? No. They need to find that "grittiness" to garner attention and purpose to exist. Rae is not gritty, but actually quite eloquent in the House of Commons, so whomever the Libs pick as leader, he or she has gotta have the grit, because their last three leaders didn't.
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1 comment:
I saw this from a completely different angle. The candidates from two leaders ago still haven’t paid there debts. Who is going to lend any money to a new slate of leadership candidates? NOBODY. Rae knows that the subsidy is gone and nobody will donate to this sinking, 3rd rate party. Therefore, he gets in as interim, and when they inevitably cancel the convention due to finances, he will assume the permanent throne in the same manner Iggy did. Once the precedent was set, they will not be able to deny Rae the same.
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